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    Thread: High level caffeine use linked to psychosis

    1. #1
      LD's this year: ~7 tommo's Avatar
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      High level caffeine use linked to psychosis

      High caffeine use linked to psychotic symptoms - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

      This has basically been thought for quite a while, but this study adds proof and is quite interesting.

      High caffeine use linked to psychotic symptoms
      By Matthew Grimson

      Updated Tue Jun 21, 2011 3:02pm AEST

      Five cups of coffee could cause psychotic-like symptoms. (Reuters: Mick Tsikas)

      A new study has found that high caffeine use, combined with stress, can cause people to exhibit psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions.

      The research suggests that around five coffees, or the equivalent of 200mg of caffeine, may be enough to tip people over the edge and cause psychotic-like symptoms.

      A team at Melbourne's La Trobe University were researching mechanisms between the onset of schizophrenia and stressful life situations.

      They were trying to discover what caused stressed individuals who did not have a diagnosis of schizophrenia to show symptoms of the disease.

      Lead researcher Simon Crowe says a sample of 92 undergraduate students were played White Christmas by Bing Crosby before being played static white noise for several minutes.

      The students were then asked to press a buzzer to indicate when, if at all, they could hear White Christmas playing in the background of the white noise.

      Lead researcher Simon Crowe says, however, White Christmas was never played during the white noise.

      He says people who were both highly stressed and had a high intake of caffeine were three times more likely to report hearing the song.

      "What we found was that people who are highly stressed and who are prone to high-level caffeine use are more likely to report these sorts of phenomena - hearing things that aren't necessarily there as a result of the interaction of those two effects," Professor Crowe said.

      He says people who have a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia do not always show the disease, but it can be triggered by a number of things, including highly stressful situations.

      "What caffeine does is increase the responsiveness of the system, which is made yet more powerful by [the presence of stress]," he said.

      "It creates a situation where people tip further into the spectrum of 'highly stressed', and as a consequence they report these types of clinical phenomena."

      Caffeine is the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world and acts in the same way as other stimulant medications such as amphetamines.

      Professor Crowe says as a result of our pressured lifestyles, Australia has become a stimulant-reliant society.

      He says the situation needs to be looked at in greater detail.

      "Caffeine is a drug that you can buy off the shelves, so it is an unregulated substance," he said.

      "We are increasingly focused on how much things like alcohol and tobacco are available freely in the community, and we here we have a stimulant - perhaps not as powerful as cocaine or amphetamine which you can actually buy off the shelf at the supermarket."

    2. #2
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      Dear God, I pop 400 mg caffeine at one setting, about 3 times a day. That's only the pills. I also drink soda and the occasional coffee.
      I guess it's safe to say I'm not predisposed to schizophrenia!

      But the info is wrong. My caffeine pills say 200mg is equal to a cup of coffee.
      Actually, that's what I *thought* it said. It really says: "Maximum strength safe as coffee..." it doesn't say how MUCH coffee.

      *rushes off to look it up*

      **EDIT**
      How Much Caffeine is in Coffee, Tea, Cola & Other Drinks - Caffeine Contents for Drinks

      1 pill = more than just one cup of most coffee. It's more like 2.
      Last edited by Zhaylin; 06-22-2011 at 04:08 PM.

    3. #3
      LD's this year: ~7 tommo's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Zhaylin View Post
      Dear God, I pop 400 mg caffeine at one setting, about 3 times a day. That's only the pills. I also drink soda and the occasional coffee.
      I guess it's safe to say I'm not predisposed to schizophrenia!

      But the info is wrong. My caffeine pills say 200mg is equal to a cup of coffee.
      Actually, that's what I *thought* it said. It really says: "Maximum strength safe as coffee..." it doesn't say how MUCH coffee.

      *rushes off to look it up*
      A cup of coffee is around 50mg. There's an actual average but I can't remember it exactly, it's around 50mg though anyway.

      You don't have to have schizophrenia or the possibility of getting it. Although it may heighten your chances.
      It's just that stress coupled with caffeine (which stresses your CNS more) can cause psychosis (not schizophrenia).

      So you could hear noises that aren't there if there is a constant auditory input, like white noise for example, or just silence.
      Probably the same would happen with visual hallucinations too. Like if you stare at a wall you might see shapes or something. It's just that auditory is most common and noticeable.

    4. #4
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      I'm a little jaded about the study.
      If you give someone a suggestion ahead of time, they'll likely hear just about anything.
      But I'm also sure there's some truth to it.
      I "hear" things whether I'm on caffeine or not- especially if I'm run down and fatigued or sleep deprived. But I realize it's just my mind filling in blanks to make sense of "white noise" or partial sounds.
      So, I think there are too many variables in the study to proclaim it all to be related to caffeine alone.

    5. #5
      khh
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      Cool study. I won't cut down on my caffeine-use, though. I love my caffeine.

      Quote Originally Posted by Zhaylin View Post
      I'm a little jaded about the study.
      If you give someone a suggestion ahead of time, they'll likely hear just about anything.
      That's why you have a control group of regular people not hyped up on caffeine. Then you can compare the two groups.
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      Quote Originally Posted by Zhaylin View Post
      I'm a little jaded about the study.
      If you give someone a suggestion ahead of time, they'll likely hear just about anything.
      But I'm also sure there's some truth to it.
      As khh said, that's why you have a control group. The people on 200mg of caffeine were 3 times more likely to hear it than the people who weren't on caffeine. So unless caffeine makes you more suggestible, there's a pretty clear link.

      Quote Originally Posted by Zhaylin View Post
      I "hear" things whether I'm on caffeine or not- especially if I'm run down and fatigued or sleep deprived. But I realize it's just my mind filling in blanks to make sense of "white noise" or partial sounds.
      So, I think there are too many variables in the study to proclaim it all to be related to caffeine alone.
      Probably because you take 600mg+ of caffeine a day

      Quote Originally Posted by khh
      Cool study. I won't cut down on my caffeine-use, though. I love my caffeine.
      You love getting rid of your withdrawal symptoms lol

      After 3-7 days (around that), caffeine does nothing, unless you increase your caffeine use.
      After two weeks I think it is, you're just fighting off the withdrawal symptoms and are actually less aware than if you had never taken caffeine at all.

      Even with Zhaylin's insane level of use, she isn't getting any more alert from taking the pills. "Tolerance is a bitch" as they say.
      Zhaylin likes this.

    7. #7
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      Try 1200 mg caffeine a day (400 x 3). Each caffeine pill contains 200 mg caffeine each. They're spaced out at around 4 hours before I take another double dose.

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      *Zhaylin's incomprehensibly insane level of use
      Zhaylin likes this.

    9. #9
      khh
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      Quote Originally Posted by tommo View Post
      You love getting rid of your withdrawal symptoms lol

      After 3-7 days (around that), caffeine does nothing, unless you increase your caffeine use.
      After two weeks I think it is, you're just fighting off the withdrawal symptoms and are actually less aware than if you had never taken caffeine at all.
      The main reason I drink coffee is because it tastes good and it's a get-awake-in-the-morning ritual. Not so much the effects.
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      I remember one time after chugging about 5 dr peppers when i was 13 i felt really hyper but i was getting a sort of beer goggle effect and i did hear a few things that werent there but it only lasted an hour or so. Do you think the caffeine caused these things or should i go see a shrink lol

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      I started drinking green tea with pomegranate; I feel amazing.
      Not sure if it's in my head, but whatever - I'm game =[]

      I love coffee, though.

    12. #12
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      Quote Originally Posted by greenhavoc View Post
      I started drinking green tea with pomegranate; I feel amazing.
      Not sure if it's in my head, but whatever - I'm game =[]

      I love coffee, though.
      I love Green Tea, hate coffee though.
      Green Tea is different to just basically straight Caffeine though,
      coz it also has Theanine which is basically what CBD is to THC.
      It mellows out the Caffein's stimulant effects.

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      That is interesting.
      I have never heard about Theanine before, I'm looking it up now.
      Later

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